§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports of abuses of human rights in Israel and the occupied territories he has received; what representations he has made on behalf of Her Majesty's Government; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydWe receive various reports of alleged human rights abuses in Israel and the occupied territories. Subjects raised recently include the economic deprivation of Palestinians under lengthy curfew, the holding of Palestinians in prison in Israel, the detention without trial of Palestinian leaders and the deportation of four Palestinians from the occupied territories in January. We have raised all these issues with the Israelis and regularly remind them of their obligation to administer the occupied territories in accordance with the fourth Geneva convention.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports have been received concerning violations of human rights in Iran since 1979, what representations, and on what date, were made by Her Majesty's Government to the Government of Iran; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydWe have received a large number of reports of human rights abuses in Iran since 1979. With our EC partners, we have frequently expressed our deep concern about these reports both through the United Nations and whenever possible directly to the Iranians. They will be well aware of the need to reply in detail to all the allegations contained in the UN special representative's reports.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received concerning human rights in Egypt; what representations have been made to the Government of Egypt by Her Majesty's Government; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydWe have received a number of representations about the alleged persecution of Christians in Egypt. These relate to a particular case now before the Egyptian courts. This matter is sub judice, but we are watching developments. The attention of the Egyptian authorities has been drawn to growing public interest in the case.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received460W of violations of human rights in Turkey; what representations Her Majesty's Government have made about these; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydI refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 29 October 1990 at column389. Since then, the issue of human rights has been raised by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with the Turkish Foreign Minister on 13 January.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of violations of human rights in(a) Oman, (b) Qatar, (c) Bahrain and (d) the United Arab Emirates; what representations have been made by Her Majesty's Government; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydWe are aware of reports from bodies such as Amnesty International of allegations of human rights abuses in some of the Gulf states, although we have seen no such reports in the case of Oman. We deplore all human rights violations, wherever they may occur. The Governments of the Gulf states are well aware of the importance we attach to the observance of international human rights standards throughout the world.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will instruct the United Kingdom ambassador to the United Nations to raise the problem of human rights abuses in East Timor at the earliest opportunity in the UN Security Council.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThe appropriate UN forum for this issue at the moment is the Commission on Human Rights. The joint statement by the EC to the present session of UNHCR will refer to East Timor.